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This octopus at two places in the Caribbean was captured in a video changing color during his sleep.
Credit: video by Rebecca Otey, courtesy of Butterfly Pavilion
Octopuses are known for their amazing ability to quickly change the color and texture of their skin, hide from predators, sneak up on prey and communicate with each other.
But what exactly happens when octopuses change color during their sleep?
Recently released videos on Twitter offer a rare glimpse of an octopus at two locations in the Caribbean (Octopus hummelincki) sleep outside in his well-lit aquarium. And while he was sleeping, the skin color of the cephalopod changed dramatically, from clear to dark and clear again. [8 Crazy Facts About Octopuses]
The video was captured in October 2017 at the Butterfly Pavilion, a non-profit invertebrate zoo in Westminster, Colorado. Rebecca Otey, then a science and conservation intern for the zoo, filmed the video and shared it on YouTube on February 16, 2018.
At the beginning of the clip, the nap octopus was pearl white in color. But while he was sleeping, dark patterns that pulsated with the animal's breath appeared on his skin. Then, a dark flood covered his body, slowly becoming white again.
Such color changes are caused by octopus chromatophores, which are specialized pigment cells that expand or contract to change the colors and patterns of the body. Two other types of cells, iridophores and leukophores, are thought to detect the colors that the skin of the octopus corresponds to. Without them, octopuses would probably not be able to recognize these tints – because they are color-blind, said Sara Stevens, aquarist at the Butterfly Pavilion, at Live Science.
"The exact processes for matching the colors are not well understood yet, although this is the subject of a thorough study," Stevens said. "But current research suggests that cells themselves can match colors."
Cephalopods generally activate their camouflage superpowers in response to changing conditions around them. So, does the color screen of this octopus at rest mean that he dreams of a threat? Cephalopod sleep and dream research has increased over the years, but even so, there is still not enough evidence to say for sure if they dream like people, according to Stevens.
"It has been hypothesized that octopus species may exhibit something very similar to REM cycles in humans – but the jury is still determined to determine whether they are getting paradoxical sleep," he said. said Stevens.
Unlike humans (or vertebrates), octopuses do not have centralized brains. Instead, they have several "brains" – bundles of neurons – spread throughout their limbs. This unusual nervous system gives the octopuses precise control over their changing color cells; However, this ability may not be fully under their control all the time, Stevens said.
"But there is no definitive answer to the questions: do they dream, and what do they dream of?" she added.
Originally published on Science live.
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